1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to musical instrument support, and specifically to a strap-like harness for positioning a cello, guitar, bass, or other like instrument about the body of the player.
2. Description of the Related Art
The existence of a musical instrument called Violoncello, now commonly referred to as the “Cello”, dates back to the mid-1600s. By 1700, it was customary for the player to hold the instrument between the knees while seated, and support it with the calves. In 1846, the Belgian cellist A. F. Servais was the first to adopt an adjustable endpin, a metal spike that holds the cello above the ground, relieving the player from having to support it with the calves. Today, the endpin is still used universally by cellists from the moment they start learning to play. The player can adjust the length of the endpin to customize the height of the instrument. The amount of distance in front of the player chosen for the floor placement of the bottom of the endpin affects the oblique angle of the instrument in relation to the player's torso. The cello player places the instrument between the legs to stabilize it and to customize the rotational angle of the instrument upon contact with the knees. These standard practices allow cellists to play their instrument healthfully in accordance with ergonomic principles governing proper body mechanics and has resulted in widely accepted standards of traditional cello technique.
Despite the long tradition of playing a cello seated with an endpin, an obvious limitation to this approach is that cello cannot be played with traditional standards of technique while standing, walking, dancing, or rotating/bending the torso. This severely limits the player in many ways, including:
1. General physical mobility and freedom. Cellists are not able to stand, walk, dance, rotate, or bend the torso while maintaining effective and healthy technique.
2. Creative possibilities. The lack of physical freedom can inhibit a performer's expressiveness, as well as severely limit staging and choreography options.
3. Communication with other performers. Cellists are often the only musician to sit during performance, and must awkwardly twist the neck to look sideways and upwards at other performers.
4. Interaction with audiences. Cellists are unable to move around the stage or into the audience.
5. Visibility to audiences. If the stage is not raised high enough, an audience is often not able to see seated performers, particularly in venues where the audience is standing.
6. The professional opportunities available to cellists. Because cellists are generally thought of as seated performers who must remain stationary, they are not asked as frequently as other instrumentalists to participate in performances involving choreography or physical mobility while playing.
There exist electric cellos that are manufactured to be played while standing up, such as the NS Design, and Mark Wood's Cobra. However, these harness systems are built into the instrument's design and are not able to be adapted to existing acoustic instruments. Also, most cellists and audiences prefer the sound and look of acoustic instruments, even when being amplified. Therefore, electric cellos are not appropriate in most professional situations.
Many musical instruments, such as acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bass guitars, banjos, mandolins, etc., are manufactured with strap anchors to accommodate the common practice of using a strap harness to hold these instruments up while standing or sitting. Acoustic cellos are not made with strap anchors since it is traditionally played from a sitting position. Furthermore, drilling into an acoustic instrument to insert an anchor would damage its acoustical properties. Since high-quality instruments are worth thousands of dollars, such modifications would also decrease their value.
There have been a small number of non-traditional cellists who have adapted existing dual-anchor guitar or bass guitar straps to hold the cello during playing, allowing them to stand. This has been done without installing strap anchors by tying a rope or string from one end of the strap around the neck of the instrument, while the other end of the strap is held in place by screwing the endpin over it. Unfortunately, the adaptation of straps intended for other instruments does not enable the cello to be properly positioned relative to a player's body according to traditional cello technique standards, or ergonomic design principles that help the player avoid injury over extended use. Therefore, using a strap to hold the instrument in this way has not been widely adopted by cellists.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,385,125 teaches a two-point anchor system for an electric cello. However, since it is intended for only electric instruments, this design requires strap anchors inserted into the body of the instrument. Thus, one could not use this system on acoustic instruments without damaging its acoustical properties and lowering its value.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,509 teaches a three-point anchor for suspending an acoustic guitar. However, this system does not accommodate an instrument of the cello's size and shape, nor can it position the instrument obliquely or rotationally in accordance with standard cello technique.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,158 also teaches a three-point anchor for suspending an acoustic guitar. This system suffers identical limitations: it does not accommodate an instrument of the cello's size and shape, nor can it position the instrument obliquely or rotationally in accordance with standard cello technique. Regardless, the status of this patent is Expired.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,137 teaches a three-point anchor system for an electric bass guitar. However, because this design requires a strap anchor inserted into the body of the instrument, it could not be used on an acoustic instrument. It is also not designed to accommodate the oblique and rotational angles required for traditional cello technique standards.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,359,203 teaches a three-point anchor system for suspending an electric instrument of the guitar family in a near vertical position, closer to how a cello is played than a guitar. However, this design also requires strap anchors inserted into the body of the instrument and, therefore, cannot be used on an acoustic instrument. It is also not designed to accommodate the oblique and rotational angles required for traditional cello technique standards.
All prior art strap harnesses used in conjunction with either a two or three-point anchor system cannot facilitate proper ergonomic positioning of the instrument relative to a player's body in accordance with traditional standards of cello technique, particularly in regards to parameters that include the oblique angle, rotational angle, depth, and height of the instrument. Furthermore, since they require strap anchors to be inserted into the instrument, they all fail to specifically address the problem of use with existing acoustic instruments where, as stated, instrument modification is detrimental to its monetary value and acoustical properties.